Northwest Denver Undressed

What, Exactly, is “Selling with Soul?”

“What, exactly, is “Selling with Soul” and why should I care if my real estate agent does it?”

As you may or may not know (or may or may not care), I am the author of a book called “Sell with Soul: Creating an Extraordinary Career in Real Estate without Losing Your Friends, Your Principles or Your Self-Respect.” I’m rather proud of it, if you want to know the truth!

Sell with Soul is part survival guide, part call-to-action for the real estate community. And this call-to-action part is why you, the general home-buying or -selling public might care about Selling with Soul and finding agents who do it.Selling with Soul has nothing to with new age philosophies, holier-than-thou attitudes or some new dance fad. Selling with Soul is simply a colorful term for playing by the Golden Rule in a real estate business — by doing unto his or her clients as the real estate agent would like to be done unto. Competently. Respectfully. Intelligently. Ethically. Soulfully.

Real estate agents who Sell with Soul truly want to be the best thing that could ever happen to their clients. They’re far more interested in taking great care of the clients they already have, rather than aggressively pursuing the ones they hope to have in the future. They’re smart enough to know that if they impress the heck out of their buyers and sellers, those buyers and sellers will be happy to sing their praises to everyone they know, thus enabling the Soulful Agent to devote most of his or her time to continuing to serve, instead of prospect. It’s a vicious cycle… and a beautiful one.

Are Sell with Soul Agents perfect? Nope. But their pursuit of excellence and sincere desire to serve the client is a breath of fresh air in the tumultous world of real estate!

So, if you chose to work with an agent who Sells with Soul, we thank you. We appreciate your support of our mission to improve the public’s perception of our industry and to provide exceptional service to those who honor us with their business!

Do you have questions about Selling with Soul? Just ask…

What’s the Difference Between a Bank-Owned Property and Short Sale?

“What’s the Difference Between a Bank-Owned Property and Short Sale?”

You know what? If you’d asked me that question 18 months ago, I’d have looked a little bewildered. Oh, I’m sure I’d have come up with an answer, but it probably wouldn’t have been anywhere close to correct! Ah… the days… where a Denver real estate agent didn’t have to KNOW the difference between a short sale and a bank-owned property (also known as an “REO”)!

But, alas, real estate agents in most parts of the country have had an un-asked-for education on the various types of distressed property situations, and the purchase and sale implications of each. It’s almost hard for me to imagine NOT being too-intimately-familiar with the process of a short-sale, or the challenges involved in purchasing a property owned by a corporate entity.

Sigh.

Anyway, to answer the question… what’s the difference and why should you care?

Well, if you’re not in the market to buy or sell a home anytime soon, then you probably don’t care. Just skip the rest of this article and we’ll catch up later. But if you are venturing into the real estate market, either as a home-buyer or seller, you definitely will want to read on.

A short sale listing is a property that is on the market for less than the current homeowner owes on it. For example, the mortgage might be $200,000, but it’s listed for sale at $160,000. Why on earth is it listed so far below the mortgage? Well, ‘cause that’s all it’s worth. It ain’t worth the $200,000 the homeowner owes on it. Bummer.

In this situation, the homeowner and his REALTOR are trying to generate an offer on the property, at the current market value, whatever that is. When and if an offer comes in, the offer will be presented to the homeowner/seller’s lender (e.g. Bank of America, GMAC) and hope that the lender will agree to take a loss. The lender is under no obligation to do so! But, to grossly simplify the process, “it doesn’t hurt to ask.”

In a short sale situation, the homeowner stills owns the property. He has not been foreclosed on. However, because the lower offer will need to be approved by the lender, the lender is a very important player in the negotiation.

A bank-owned property (sometimes called a “foreclosure” or “REO”), on the other hand, IS owned by a bank, lender or other corporate entity (for simplicity, let’s just call ‘em the “bank”). All offers and negotiations are presented to and handled by the bank, who has no emotional attachment whatsoever to the home. However, because the seller (the bank) actually has all decision-making authority, it’s not all that unlike a traditional retail sale with a “normal” homeowner seller.

There are whole books written about the ins & outs of short-sales and bank-owned properties, so I won’t even begin to address the various issues surrounding these types of real estate transactions here. I’ll just say that, of the two types, in my experience, a bank-owned property is MUCH more likely to end up at the closing table than a short sale. MUCH.

So, if you feel your real estate agent is trying to steer you away from short sale properties, you’re probably right, and please don’t think your agent is just being lazy. They’re frustrating for everyone involved, most of all YOU, and we really hate to see our clients frustrated.

The good news is that in Denver, we have the best of all worlds. If you want to participate in the distressed housing market, we have plenty of inventory for you (although in the lower price ranges you may very well be competing with investors), but if you don’t; if you just want a sweet house in a good neighborhood at a reasonable price, we have lotsa’ that, too.

Dear Real Estate Professional, I’d Like to See a House, Please.

A few months ago, I posted a Help Wanted ad for a graphics designer on www.Guru.com. If you’ve never used Guru – it’s a wonderful resource! Basically, it’s on online database of freelancers who are looking for work. GURU ROCKS!

Anyway, within 24 hours of posting my ad, I got at least 30 responses. Complete with resumes, pricing estimates and requests for further information about my project. All 30 responders seemed to sincerely want my business and not a one of them lectured, belittled or condescended to me.

Well, duh, you say, they’re after your business, why on earth would they be anything but delightful in their first encounter with you?

My thoughts exactly.

Well, I’ve recently been lurking on Trulia (www.trulia.com) because I’ve heard it’s a good place to blog. I stumbled onto a discussion started by a first-time homebuyer asking questions about a particular house for sale in her neighborhood.

I was stunned at the level of lecturing, belittling and condescension expressed by the responding real estate “professionals.” More than half of the responders sternly advised her to speak with a mortgage broker before “bothering” (okay, that’s my word, but the message was clear) a real estate agent. Another instructed her to better educate herself on the process before looking at homes, and helpfully provided links (surprisingly, not even to his own material, but stuff from NAR). Only two agents actually offered to show her the home, but even they seemed disinterested in becoming her favorite real estate agent.

I gotta ask… WHY are these real estate agents wasting their precious time on the Trulia forum if all they’re going to do is alienate the prospects they’re supposedly there to find?

Are graphics designers on guru.com more desperate than real estate agents (HA!) and therefore only grudgingly concede to being polite, enthusiastic and responsive? Whereas we in the real estate industry are so buried under a pile of qualified buyers and motivated sellers to the point where we simply don’t have a minute to spare to be polite, enthusiastic and responsive?

ROFLMAO. I crack myself up.

A Denver Crime Map That’s Kinda Cool

Okay, so maybe I’m a weirdo for thinking a map of crimes is cool, but, well, I do. I’m always asked by my buyer clients “How’s the crime around here?” and in case you didn’t know, I can’t legally answer that question! So, having resources to point my clients to is tremendously helpful in my business.

Here’s a neato site that maps out all the recent crimes surrounding a Denver address, intersection, park or other public locale.

Cool, huh?

Denver Demographics – a Touchy Subject

Did you know that there are some topics a real estate agent can’t discuss? Topics such as crime rates, school ratings and general demographics are not subjects up for discussion due to federal Fair Housing laws.

However, just because I can’t legally answer such questions doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask them, or that the answers aren’t available! You should and they are!

Here is a fantastic website that will tell you just about everything you want to know about the demographics of Charming Old Denver. You can even compare neighborhoods!

Here’s a link to the 2007 Denver Police Department Annual Report. Scroll down to page 12 for detailed crime reports for each district.

Here is a website that offers parents an objective rating of public schools, including test scores and demographics. Here’s another one.

Here’s a link to a searchable directory of Denver sex offenders (you first have to agree to the terms of use before you can use it).

Hope this is helpful!

Looking for Foreclosures in Charming Old Denver?

Looking for Foreclosures/Short Sales/REO’s in Denver… but don’t know where to start?

Frankly, neither do I. I’ve made the executive decision that the Foreclosure market is not my thing. In the late 90’s, I worked with a lot of investors, but that was a different world – one in which the sellers actually seemed to want to sell! I’ve heard so many horror stories of deals that seemed too good to be true… and were. Or sales that dragged on and on for months only to eventually disintegrate after wasting an incredible amount of time and energy.

Nonetheless, today’s market does offer incredible opportunities for the amateur or professional investor and I’ll bet a lot of us will wish we’d taken advantage of one or two of them… I know if I had a couple extra hundred thousand lying around right now, I’d be picking up some real estate…

Anyway, I wanted to pass on the name of a guy I met a few weeks ago who has created a dandy little niche for himself in this Foreclosure market. What he does is purchase a foreclosed home, renovates it, procures a renter and then sells the house at a cash-flowing price. I’ve seen his work and it’s decent! I’ve never done a transaction with him, but my impression was that he’s a straight-up guy offering a win/win proposal. His tagline is “We Always Pass the Deal on.”

If you’d like an introduction, just get in touch with me and I’ll hook you up.

Yes! I’m happy to work with you, Denver Homebuyer – No Obligation Required!

I’ve been involved in several online discussions lately about the “necessity” of requiring a new buyer client sign a Buyer Agency Agreement upfront, before the real estate agent will agree to show the buyer homes.

For the uninitiated, a Buyer Agency Agreement obligates the buyer to the real estate agent for a specified period of time. If the buyer purchases a home during the contract period, he is contractually required to pay that agent a commission. Nothing really wrong with that; we don’t get paid until closing and it’s reasonable that we might want some sort of assurance that our efforts will be compensated at some point if we perform.

But it’s also reasonable that a buyer might balk at committing to a real estate agent he barely knows. I whole‑heartedly believe it is my duty and obligation to prove myself to you before even suggesting a formal relationship. And, once I’ve proven myself invaluable, you aren’t going anywhere unless you’re a flake… and then a piece of paper ain’t gonna change that.

You have the right to evaluate me, just as I have the right to evaluate you. We real estate agents carry on and on about how we shouldn’t waste our time with unqualified, unmotivated, unfaithful buyers, but we expect those very buyers to commit to us before they know a darn thing about OUR qualifications, OUR motivation or even OUR faithfulness. Do I know my markets, my contracts, my systems? Do I return my phone calls promptly? Do I have 25 other buyers taking up my time?

These are valid concerns you may have about me. And I can’t TELL you the answers, I have to demonstrate my worthiness.  If I don’t convince you that I’m the man (er, woman) for the job, you should have every right to look elsewhere for assistance.

Besides, buying a home is an emotional experience. There is such a thing as a bad personality fit, even if both parties are terrific people. Good rapport is essential to a successful home-buying experience (for both of us!!).

So, Mr. Buyer, call me with confidence. We’ll check each other out and see if we’re a good fit. And, we’ll have some fun looking for your next home! 

80212 – Not just “stable” – we’re appreciating!

So… according to this morning’s Rocky Mountain News, my little piece of paradise here in Northwest Denver is the second strongest zip code in the city with an annual appreciate rate of… get this… 18.5%!!!!

Go, us!

What’s interesting is just yesterday I was doing an analysis of the number of Lender Owned listings here in my ‘hood compared to the number in other neighborhoods and came to the conclusion that if you’re looking for great REOs or Foreclosures… look elsewhere. Here in 80212, there are 19 lender owned properties on the market and all but two or three are on very busy commercial streets or right on top of I-70 (or both). In other words, these would be tough properties to sell in any market and not something I’d ever recommend to an investor.

So… we’re doing just fine here in 80212… I’m proud of my ‘hood! Want to see why we like it so much? Check out my virtual tour here…

How to Buy a House in Denver – A First Time Buyer’s Guide

I’ve bought (or tried to buy) real estate in various parts of the country… Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Carolina Beach, North Carolina; Dothan, Alabama to name a few… and y’know what? It’s done differently in different markets. Startlingly differently, in some cases. So, if you’re considering buying a home in Denver, whether it’s your first home or your last, and you’ve never bought here before, the process may not be quite what you’re expecting.

As a writer, I’m better at putting my thoughts down on paper than I am processing them through my vocal cords. So, if you contact me about purchasing your first Denver home, I’ll probably direct you to the First Time Buyer’s Guide I created – hope that’s okay. Want to see it? Just go to the Buyer section of my website and download it for free. Here’s the link.

Would love your feedback!

 www.charmingolddenver.com

5280 Magazine Names Highland & Berkeley “Safe” Places to Buy… even now

Like we didn’t already know it, but we’re officially on 5280’s “safe” list of Denver neighborhoods that are still stable or even appreciating. The article even goes so far as to call us the “it” spot of the last five years!

Washington Park is also on the list, as are Bonnie Brae, Mayfair and Congress Park. But here’s the cool thing – check out these average home prices:

Highland/West Highland: $305,011
Berkeley: $274,000
Washington Park: $654,000
Bonnie Brae: $904,212
Mayfair: $671,000 (includes Hilltop which is very pricey)
Congress Park: $408,000

Hmmmm… looking for a “safe” real estate investment that won’t put you out half a mil or more? Throw in an urban lifestyle to die for and what do you see? Charming Old Northwest Denver!